Last month, I had written about the Leeds, UK-based indie rock/psych rock trio The Boxing, and as you may recall, since their formation in 2014, the trio comprised of Harrison Warke (vocals, guitar), Henry Chatham (bass) and Charlie Webb (drums) quickly asserted themselves as part of their hometown’s growing, contemporary indie rock and psych rock scenes; in fact, they’ve already drawn some comparisons to the likes of W.H. Lung, Eagulls and JOVM mainstays The Vryll Society.
“One by One,” which I wrote about last month, was a brooding track featuring swirling and shimmering guitar chords and a propulsive, motoric groove, led by a sinuous bass line and steady drumming paired with a soaring hook and a whispered croon reminiscent of The Horrors’ Faris Badwan, complete with a studio sheen. And as the band’s Harrison Warke explained in press notes “One by One” was an elaboration of the sound they developed across their first batch of singles, as it was the first single they recorded in a proper, professional studio. Naturally, the studio recording process gave the members of the band the freedom and ability to experiment and flesh out the overall arrangement in a way that they were unable to do before.
“Heart of Me,” is essentially the B-side track to “One by One” and while continuing in a similar vein as its lead single, complete with shimmering guitar chords, the track manages to be a foil to its lead single while being able to stand on its own. And while nodding at slow-burning, moody and stormy shoegaze, the track possesses a creepy, existential dread as its core.
